The present invention relates to a method for synthesizing an organic nanotube and to a method for synthesizing an ultrafine nanowire using the organic nanotube as a template.
The discovery of carbon nanotubes having unique structural and physicochemical properties has led to many attempts to develop various tubular inorganic and organic nanotubes [see xe2x80x9cY. Feldman et al., Science 267, 222(1995)xe2x80x9d; xe2x80x9cW. G. Orr et al., Science 285, 1049(1999)xe2x80x9d; xe2x80x9cA. Harada et al., Nature 364, 516(1993)xe2x80x9d; and xe2x80x9cM. R. Ghadiri et al., Nature 366, 324 (1993)xe2x80x9d.] For example, organic nanotubes, such as cyclic peptide nanotubes, lipid nanotubes and cyclodextrin nanotubes, have been prepared, but their industrial applicability is limited due to the lack of suitable electrochemical and photochemical properties.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for synthesizing an organic nanotube having excellent electrochemical and photochemical properties suitable for use as a template in synthesizing a single-crystalline nanowire.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for synthesizing a calix[4]hydroquinone(CHQ) organic nanotube, which comprises dissolving CHQ in an aqueous acetone solution, and allowing acetone to evaporate off the resulting solution at a temperature ranging from 0 to 20 xe2x96xa1 to effectuate CHQ crystallization into a self-assembled nanotube.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for synthesizing a nanowire, which comprises adding the CHQ organic nanotube thus synthesized to an aqueous solution containing a metal salt to let the metal ion enter the cavity of the nanotube and allowing the CHQ moieties of the nanotube to reduce the metal ion into the form of a nanowire.